Juncker: European Union Must Spend More on Defence

PRAGUE (AP) – European Union leaders say the EU needs to lift its defense spending.

In a speech during a conference on EU security and defense in Prague on Friday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the way ahead “starts with making sure we spend what is needed on our defense.”

Juncker says the EU needs to “invest more, and invest in a more efficient way.”

EU member states are spending only 1.3 percent of their overall budget on defense, much less than the United States, Russia and China, Juncker says.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says that after years of debates on defense “this is the time now to get things done.”